In the dim forest, a grueso scene was unfolding, as an armor-clad figure drenched in blood stood in front of a headless corpse, and in his hand, a head with a piece of spine violently ripped out dangled limply.
Suddenly, the armored figure’s fingers exerted force, and the head burst open with a crash, brain matter, flesh, and fragnts of bone splattering everywhere. But the armored figure seed not to care at all, instead holding up a at worm about the size of his thumb close to his face, as if admiring so exquisite piece of art.
"So that’s how it is..." The voice of the armored figure echoed inside his helt, carrying a hint of terrifying etherealness. Paired with the scene reminiscent of a Hell Scroll, anyone seeing him would take him for a peerless demon lord.
At this very mont, a five-person squad happened to follow the sounds of combat and arrived at the scene.
However, the battle had not begun; the leader of the group even respectfully clasped his hands and bowed, saying,
"Junior Chu Chuan of the Demon Extermination Departnt, it is an honor to et you, Senior Ironclad."
"What’s the matter? A Gu Cultivator just died here, and I’m not sure if there are any Gu Eggs left around." The armored figure’s fingers tightened, squishing the still wriggling at worm into a pulp, then imdiately took out a match and set the remains in front of him on fire.
Upon hearing Senior Ironclad’s advice, the team instinctively took a slight step back, but that was rely a reflex, as they all maintained the operation of their Protective Gang Qi.
Chu Chuan, who claid to be a Sword Holder, seed to realize his own lapse and a look of embarrassnt surfaced on his face, but he still respectfully said,
"Traces of an Evil Cultivator have appeared near Qingsong Town, and it is said that you were recently searching..."
"I understand," the armored figure interrupted before he could finish, and grabbed the nearby "Strange Flowing Horse" leaning against a tree, then vanished into the depths of the forest...
...
"Chief, the person just now seed very strong; which sect’s senior was he?" After watching the senior ride off on the Flowing Horse, soone from the squad finally asked. Chu Chuan, his expression turning serious, responded:
"I don’t know either. Senior Ironclad appeared about two months ago, and since he’s always wearing that armor, everyone started calling him Ironclad, and he didn’t seem to object, so the nickna stuck."
"Two months ago? Wasn’t that when we had just completed our training? Could it be that he’s a newly erged genius from so sect?" muttered a young man with a square face and big ears. Chu Chuan, however, glared at him and said,
"Don’t spout nonsense. Senior Ironclad is a Scholarly expert, not only possessing Supre Martial Arts but also having extrely high attainnts in chanical Techniques and dical Skill. Half a month ago, the supply team that went to Tian Chung Town was attacked by several Demon Cultivators, and with a single punch, he suppressed all of them. We’ve checked recent sect records and haven’t found any trace of him. The higher-ups suspect he might be a descendent of the ’chanical Palace,’ which vanished over 300 years ago."
"Over 300 years ago? That was before the Demon Sect and Demons even erged, right?" The team mbers couldn’t help but be astonished, and Chu Chuan nodded and said,
"Exactly, but the reason I hold so much respect for him is because he invented a ntal thod that can entirely expel the Demonic Qi from one’s body!"
"What?" The team mbers exclaid in surprise, but their training quickly allowed them to regain their composure, and as they left the forest, they quietly asked,
"How can such a big deal not be known?"
"You don’t even use your brain to think about it. Soone who is unwilling to show their true face gives you a cultivation technique, telling you it can expel demonic Qi. Would you dare to practice it? What if it’s a trap set by a demon from the Demon Sect?" Another mber of the small team glanced disdainfully at the one with a square face and big ears, then turned to Chu Chuan and said:
"Leader, do you have any inside information?"
"It’s not exactly inside information. I just received a ssage yesterday that our volunteer, Senior Qin Hu, has completely freed himself from the influence of the demonic Qi. It’s just that the mutation in his left hand is incurable."
"That’s already very good. If it can be popularized, then we won’t have to worry about being eroded by demonic Qi!" The good news lifted the team’s spirits, but Chu Chuan promptly poured cold water on their excitent by saying:
"How easy do you think it is? This ntal thod requires a high level of Inner Strength. Ordinary grandmasters may not even et the standards, and it’s still uncertain whether it’s harmful or not. Those experts who have started practicing this ntal thod are still under strict surveillance. Only when they are confird to have no issues will it be promoted on a small scale! Alright, these matters aren’t exactly confidential, but you should just listen and make sure not to spread it outside."
"Yes!"
...
"The label’s strength has increased again, huh!" Feng Xue, riding a motorcycle across the wilderness, felt the feedback from his "Hidden Sect Disciple Entering the World" label growing stronger. His lips couldn’t help but curl into a slight smile as he continued searching for new prey.
Over the past two months, he had researched quite a few samples of so-called demons from the Demon Sect and had co to understand the chanisms behind the application of this so-called demonic Qi.
Simply put, this is a special energy that possesses "Self-awareness."
They have a certain "inducing cycle" function, allowing them to parasitize living beings, erode a section of their ridians, and spontaneously operate a specific cycle of cultivation, thereby using the host’s Life Force as nourishnt for themselves.
Even among the three types of demons from the Demon Sect that Feng Xue had collected samples from, not one of them was the "master" of the demonic Qi. The difference only lay in that Poison Cultivators use poison as a dium for the demonic Qi to reduce its erosion on themselves, Gu Cultivators use Gu Worms as brokers, indirectly utilizing the power of demonized Gu Worms, and Demon Cultivators let the demonic Qi erode their own bodies, directly harnessing the power of the demonic Qi.
However, their secluded nature was completely different from those who were truly eroded by demonic Qi. Feng Xue could only roughly make a few conjectures such as "comprehensive erosion," "gentle erosion," and "initial spreaders." As for its ability to induce the mutation of flesh and even create eyes and other refined organs from nothing, Feng Xue was still completely in the fog.
Nevertheless, judging from these results, the true owner of this so-called demonic Qi is very likely to be the "Evil Cultivators" Feng Xue has never seen in these two months.
Of course, seeing them or not is not that important; after all, he wasn’t here to investigate the truths of the world. Compared to uncovering the mastermind behind the scenes, Feng Xue was more inclined to use the sense of oppression brought by these demons from the Demon Sect to provide himself with an excellent Kaidan entry.
Based on the demonic Qi’s characteristics of being utmost Yang and utterly evil, Feng Xue drew upon the Taiyin Yiming Jue’s utmost Yin and utterly righteous character to develop a ntal thod that could neutralize the erosive nature of the demonic Qi, turning them into sothing similar to "ordinary Inner Strength" like the No-thought Divine Power. Afterward, it would be possible to expel them like healing normal injuries.
The only issue is that this thing is only a half-finished product, after all, "neutralizing" is a very low-cost-effective action. Cultivating new Inner Strength that doesn’t conflict with one’s own is hard enough, let alone managing to suppress demonic Qi simultaneously.
In Feng Xue’s view, what’s most appropriate is not neutralization but taming.
But to ta such utmost Yang and utterly evil Inner Strength, you must have sothing even more evil.
And Feng Xue just happened to have such a thing in his possession...
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